On Media

Media pushes for greater access in meeting with White House

Representatives from major media organizations met with members of the White House press office Tuesday afternoon to begin discussions on increasing press access to President Barack Obama.

No specific new guidelines were established, but White House Correspondents Association President Steven Thomma said the meeting was productive and that more meetings will take place next year.

“It was a good meeting. I’m hopeful — all of us are hopeful — that we’re going to make some progress,” Thomma said in an interview shortly after the meeting. “We established as a group our goal: that the White House adopt a presumption of consistent and meaningful access by the press.”

The meeting came after intense pressure from the press corps following the president's travel to and from South Africa earlier this month, during which photographers were barred from seeing the president in flight on Air Force One. Prior to the trip, the WHCA and 37 news organizations sent Carney a letter accusing the White House of “blocking the public from having an independent view of important functions of the executive branch of government.” Members of the press corps have also pushed the issue in several of the daily White House press briefings.

AP senior managing editor Mike Oreskes said the group is trying to establish a default agreement that the press be present wherever and whenever the president is conducting public business.

“We agreed to continue the conversation with a smaller group to get to some practical issues that do come up,” Oreskes said in an interview. “We really stressed that this is a question of access to the president doing public work in the public parts of the White House.”

White House press secretary Jay Carney declined to comment. Thomma said Carney told the group that the White House is “committed to taking action on photographer access” but that he did not commit to the presumption of press access.

Thomma, who also met privately with Carney and Earnest on Monday night, said Carney has told him he sees the point the press is trying to make.

"I think he has conceded that there are times he should have allowed pool access, including the flight home from South Africa, that he probably should have invited the pool forward, at least for a quick spray to see the presidents (George W. Bush and Barack Obama). He doesn’t concede all of them but some of them," Thomma said.

"I sense in every way, and it's my reporting that the White House up to the top level, to the president, are aware of this issue and want it resolved," Thomma continued.

Carney, deputy press secretaries Josh Earnest and Jamie Smith, and White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler were all present at the meeting.